Heat transfer plate for plate heat exchanger and plate heat exchanger with the same

ABSTRACT

A heat transfer plate ( 10 ) for a plate heat exchanger ( 100 ) includes: a plate body ( 11 ) which has a gasket groove ( 12 ) with a groove wall ( 13, 14 ), the groove wall ( 13, 14 ) having a groove wall body ( 130, 140 ); and a ridge ( 20 ) disposed on the groove wall body ( 130, 140 ) of a segment ( 120 ) of the gasket groove ( 12 ) in a length direction of the gasket groove ( 12 ).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims foreign priority benefits under U.S.C. § 119 toDenmark Patent Application No. PA201700670 filed on Nov. 22, 2017, thecontent of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relates to a heat transfer platefor a plate heat exchanger and a plate heat exchanger.

BACKGROUND

FIG. 1 shows a typical construction of a plate heat exchanger 100′. Theplate heat exchanger 100′ comprises a plurality of heat transfer plate10′ stacked on top of each other. The heat transfer plates 10′ areformed with patterns such that flow paths are formed between each set ofneighbouring heat transfer plates 10′. Openings 21 and 22 are formed inthe heat transfer plates 10′ to form inlets and outlets for fluids tothese flow paths. Gaskets 60 are positioned between the heat transferplates 10′ in gasket grooves 12 formed in the heat transfer plates. Thegasket is arranged at an edge portion of the heat transfer plate to sealthe flow paths and at an area around the openings to seal pairs of theopenings, such that only two of them have flow access to the flow pathformed at one side of the heat transfer plate, while the other two issealed therefrom.

FIG. 2 shows that the heat exchanger plates 10′ are stacked andpositioned between relatively thick and rigid top and bottom plates 51and 52. Tension shown by arrows is then applied to the heat exchangerplates 10′ to keep them close together and to squeeze the gaskets 60slightly such that stable and fluid tight flow paths are formed. Thistension typically is implemented through bolts (not shown) extendingfrom the top plate 51 to the bottom plate 52.

The upper figure in FIG. 2 shows the state of the heat exchanger plates10′ before the tension is applied to them, while the lower figure inFIG. 2 shows a frequently experienced problem that this tension tends toprolong the heat exchanger plates 10′, such as by several millimetres.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a heat transfer plate for a plate heatexchanger and a plate heat exchanger that at least partly alleviate theprolongation of the heat transfer plates when tension is applied to theheat exchanger plates.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a heat transfer plate fora plate heat exchanger. The heat transfer plate comprises: a plate bodywhich has a gasket groove with a groove wall, the groove wall having agroove wall body; and a ridge disposed on the groove wall body of asegment of the gasket groove in a length direction of the gasket groove.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the groove wallcomprises two side walls and a bottom wall, each of the two side wallshaving a side wall body, the bottom wall having a bottom wall body, andthe groove wall body comprising the side wall bodes and the bottom wallbody; and the ridge is disposed on at least one of the bottom wall bodyand the side wall bodies of the segment of the gasket groove in thelength direction of the gasket groove.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ridge isprojected from the groove wall body in a direction from an outside ofthe gasket groove toward an inside of the gasket groove.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ridge isprojected from the groove wall body in a direction from an inside of thegasket groove toward an outside of the gasket groove.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ridge isprojected from the at least one of the bottom wall body and the sidewall bodies in a direction from an outside of the gasket groove towardan inside of the gasket groove.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ridge isprojected from the at least one of the bottom wall body and the sidewall bodies in a direction from an inside of the gasket groove toward anoutside of the gasket groove.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat transferplate further comprises: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasketgroove, and the ridge is disposed on one of the side wall bodies facingtowards the heat exchanging area.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat transferplate further comprises: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasketgroove, and the ridge is disposed on one of the side wall bodies facingaway from the heat exchanging area.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ridge isdisposed on at least one of the side wall bodies, and is closer to thebottom wall body than to the plate body.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the ridge isdisposed on a middle portion of the bottom wall body in a widthdirection of the bottom wall body.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat transferplate further comprises: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasketgroove, and the ridge is disposed on a side of the bottom wall bodyfacing towards the heat exchanging area in a width direction of thebottom wall body.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the heat transferplate further comprises: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasketgroove, and the ridge is disposed on a side of the bottom wall bodyfacing away from the heat exchanging area in a width direction of thebottom wall body.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the segment of thegasket groove extends essentially parallel to an edge of the plate body.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the segment of thegasket groove extends essentially parallel to a length direction of theplate body.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a plate heatexchanger. The plate heat exchanger comprises: a plurality ofabovementioned heat transfer plates which are stacked on top of eachother; and gaskets disposed in the gasket grooves of some of theplurality of heat transfer plates.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentdisclosure will become apparent in light of the detailed description ofembodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art plate heat exchanger;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing states of heat transfer plates of theplate heat exchanger of FIG. 1 before and after tension is applied tothem;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a plate heat exchanger according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a heat transfer plate of the plate heatexchanger of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5A is a schematic partially enlarged sectional view of the heattransfer plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,taken along the line AA in FIG. 4;

FIG. 5B is a schematic partially enlarged perspective view of the heattransfer plate of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6A is a schematic partially enlarged sectional view of the heattransfer plate according to another embodiment of the presentdisclosure, taken along the line AA in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6B is a schematic partially enlarged perspective view of the heattransfer plate of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 7 is a schematic partially enlarged sectional view of the heattransfer plate according to still another embodiment of the presentdisclosure, taken along the line AA in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8A is a schematic partially enlarged sectional view of the heattransfer plate according to yet another embodiment of the presentdisclosure, taken along the line AA in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8B is a schematic partially enlarged perspective view of the heattransfer plate of FIG. 8A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a plate heat exchanger 100 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure is shown. The plate heat exchanger100 comprises: a plurality of heat transfer plates 10 which are stackedon top of each other; and gaskets 60 (referring to FIG. 1) disposed ingasket grooves 12 of some of the plurality of heat transfer plates 10.The heat transfer plates 10 are formed with patterns such that flowpaths are formed between each set of neighbouring heat transfer plates10. Openings 21 and 22 are formed in the heat transfer plates 10 to forminlets and outlets for fluids to these flow paths.

Referring to FIGS. 3 to 8B, the heat transfer plate 10 comprises: aplate body 11 and a ridge 20. The plate body 11 has a gasket groove 12with a groove wall 13, 14. The groove wall 13, 14 has a groove wall body130, 140. The ridge 20 is disposed on the groove wall body 130, 140 of asegment 120 of the gasket groove 12 in a length direction of the gasketgroove 12. The ridge 20 may be continuous. In addition, the ridge 20 mayextend essentially parallel to an edge 121 of the plate body 11 orextends essentially parallel to a length direction of the plate body 11(FIG. 4). The heat transfer plate 10 may be formed of a metal plate bypressing.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 8B, the ridge 20 is projected from the groovewall body 130, 140 in a direction from an outside of the gasket groove12 toward an inside of the gasket groove 12. Alternatively, the ridge 20may also be projected from the groove wall body 130, 140 in a directionfrom an inside of the gasket groove 12 toward an outside of the gasketgroove 12.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 8B, in some embodiments, the groove wall 13, 14comprises two side walls 13 and a bottom wall 14. Each of the two sidewalls 13 has a side wall body 130, the bottom wall 14 has a bottom wallbody 140, and the groove wall body 130, 140 comprises the side wallbodes 130 and the bottom wall body 140. The ridge 20 is disposed on atleast one of the bottom wall body 140 and the side wall bodies 130 ofthe segment 120 of the gasket groove 12 in the length direction of thegasket groove 12. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 8B, the ridge 20 is projectedfrom the at least one of the bottom wall body 140 and the side wallbodies 130 in a direction from an outside of the gasket groove 12 towardan inside of the gasket groove 12. Alternatively, the ridge 20 may alsobe projected from the at least one of the bottom wall body 140 and theside wall bodies 130 in a direction from an inside of the gasket groove12 toward an outside of the gasket groove 12.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 8A and 8B, FIG. 8A shows the cross section of apart of the gasket groove and its groove wall where the encircled partillustrates the ridge formed in the groove wall of the gasket groove.The heat transfer plate 10 further comprises: a heat exchanging area 101surrounded by the gasket groove 12. In an embodiment, the ridge 20 isdisposed on one of the side wall bodies 130 facing towards the heatexchanging area 101. In the present embodiment, corrugations 102 in theheat exchanging area 101 are integrated with the ridge 20, andaccordingly are deformed slightly as indicated by the encircled part inFIG. 8B. Alternatively, referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the ridge 20 isdisposed on one of the side wall bodies 130 facing away from the heatexchanging area 101. In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 5A, 5B, 8Aand 8B, the ridge 20 is disposed on at least one of the side wall bodies130, and is closer to the bottom wall body 140 than to the plate body11. Alternatively, the ridge 20 may be closer to the plate body 11 thanto the bottom wall body 140, or the ridge 20 may also be disposed on amiddle portion of at least one of the side wall bodies 130 in a widthdirection of the side wall body 130. The ridge 20 constitutes a barrierfor protecting the heat exchanging area 101 as well as the groove wall13, 14. Referring to FIGS. 5B, 6B, and 8B, in the heat exchanging area101, the heat transfer plates 10 are formed with the chevron-shapedcorrugations 102. However, the present invention is not limited to anystructure formed in the heat exchanging area. For example, in the heatexchanging area 101, the heat transfer plates 10 may also be formed withother patterns such as bulges and hollows. The heat transfer plates 10are reinforced by the ridge 20 to have sufficient rigidity, therebypreventing the elongation of the heat transfer plates 10 at least underthe action of the tension. Although the figures show that the ridge 20is disposed on one of the side wall bodies 130, the ridge may be formedin either or both of the side wall bodies 130.

Referring to FIGS. 6A and 6B, in another embodiment, the ridge 20 isdisposed on a middle portion of the bottom wall body 140 in a widthdirection of the bottom wall body 140. Alternatively, referring to FIG.7, the ridge 20 is disposed on a side of the bottom wall body 140 facingtowards the heat exchanging area 101 in a width direction of the bottomwall body 140, or the ridge 20 may also be disposed on a side of thebottom wall body 140 facing away from the heat exchanging area 101 inthe width direction of the bottom wall body 140.

Referring to FIG. 4, in some embodiments, the segment 120 of the gasketgroove 12 provided with the ridge 20 extends essentially parallel to anedge 121 of the plate body 11 or extends essentially parallel to alength direction of the plate body 11. The segment 120 of the gasketgroove 12 provided with the ridge 20 may have a length essentially equalto a length of an entire straight portion of the gasket groove 12. Thestraight portion of the gasket groove 12 is essentially parallel to theedge 121 of the plate body 11 or the length direction of the plate body11.

Although in the embodiments, only one ridge 20 is formed on the groovewall body 130, 140, a plurality of ridge 20 may be formed on the groovewall body 130, 140. In addition, the figures shows that one of thebottom wall body 140 and the side wall bodies 130 is formed with theridge 20, but all of the bottom wall body 140 and the side wall bodies130, the bottom wall body 140 and one of the side wall bodies 130, orall of the side wall bodies 130 may be formed with the ridges 20.

While the figures shows that the gasket groove 12 has a U-shaped crosssection, the cross section of the gasket groove 12 may have any otherappropriate shapes, such as a V shape, and a semicircular shape.

With the heat transfer plate 10 and the plate heat exchanger 100according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the prolongationof the heat transfer plates 10 occurring when tension is applied to theheat exchanger plates can be at least partly alleviated.

While the principles of the present disclosure have been describedherein, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that thisdescription is made only by way of example and not as a limitation as tothe scope of the disclosure. Other embodiments are contemplated withinthe scope of the present disclosure in addition to the exemplaryembodiments shown and described herein. Modifications and substitutionsby one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within thescope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A heat transfer plate for a plate heat exchanger,the heat transfer plate comprising: a plate body which has a gasketgroove with a groove wall, the groove wall having a groove wall body;and a ridge disposed on the groove wall body of a segment of the gasketgroove in a length direction of the gasket groove.
 2. The heat transferplate of claim 1, wherein: the groove wall comprises two side walls anda bottom wall, each of the two side walls having a side wall body, thebottom wall having a bottom wall body, and the groove wall bodycomprising the side wall bodes and the bottom wall body; and the ridgeis disposed on at least one of the bottom wall body and the side wallbodies of the segment of the gasket groove in the length direction ofthe gasket groove.
 3. The heat transfer plate of claim 1, wherein: theridge is projected from the groove wall body in a direction from anoutside of the gasket groove toward an inside of the gasket groove. 4.The heat transfer plate of claim 1, wherein: the ridge is projected fromthe groove wall body in a direction from an inside of the gasket groovetoward an outside of the gasket groove.
 5. The heat transfer plate ofclaim 2, wherein: the ridge is projected from the at least one of thebottom wall body and the side wall bodies in a direction from an outsideof the gasket groove toward an inside of the gasket groove.
 6. The heattransfer plate of claim 2, wherein: the ridge is projected from the atleast one of the bottom wall body and the side wall bodies in adirection from an inside of the gasket groove toward an outside of thegasket groove.
 7. The heat transfer plate of claim 2, furthercomprising: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasket groove,wherein the ridge is disposed on one of the side wall bodies facingtowards the heat exchanging area.
 8. The heat transfer plate of claim 2,further comprising: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasketgroove, wherein the ridge is disposed on one of the side wall bodiesfacing away from the heat exchanging area.
 9. The heat transfer plate ofclaim 2, wherein: the ridge is disposed on at least one of the side wallbodies, and is closer to the bottom wall body than to the plate body.10. The heat transfer plate of claim 2, wherein: the ridge is disposedon a middle portion of the bottom wall body in a width direction of thebottom wall body.
 11. The heat transfer plate of claim 2, furthercomprising: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasket groove,wherein the ridge is disposed on a side of the bottom wall body facingtowards the heat exchanging area in a width direction of the bottom wallbody.
 12. The heat transfer plate of claim 2, further comprising: a heatexchanging area surrounded by the gasket groove, wherein the ridge isdisposed on a side of the bottom wall body facing away from the heatexchanging area in a width direction of the bottom wall body.
 13. Theheat transfer plate of claim 1, wherein: the segment of the gasketgroove extends essentially parallel to an edge of the plate body. 14.The heat transfer plate of claim 1, wherein: the segment of the gasketgroove extends essentially parallel to a length direction of the platebody.
 15. A plate heat exchanger, comprising: a plurality of heattransfer plates of claim 1, which are stacked on top of each other; andgaskets disposed in the gasket grooves of some of the plurality of heattransfer plates.
 16. The heat transfer plate of claim 5, furthercomprising: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasket groove,wherein the ridge is disposed on one of the side wall bodies facingtowards the heat exchanging area.
 17. The heat transfer plate of claim6, further comprising: a heat exchanging area surrounded by the gasketgroove, wherein the ridge is disposed on one of the side wall bodiesfacing towards the heat exchanging area.
 18. The heat transfer plate ofclaim 5, further comprising: a heat exchanging area surrounded by thegasket groove, wherein the ridge is disposed on one of the side wallbodies facing away from the heat exchanging area.
 19. The heat transferplate of claim 6, further comprising: a heat exchanging area surroundedby the gasket groove, wherein the ridge is disposed on one of the sidewall bodies facing away from the heat exchanging area.
 20. The heattransfer plate of claim 5, wherein: the ridge is disposed on at leastone of the side wall bodies, and is closer to the bottom wall body thanto the plate body.